The MindShift Series: A Compass in Times of Upheaval
The MindShift series is a four-part book series dedicated to the most pressing questions of our time – not from a technical, but from a human perspective. It connects consciousness research, questions of identity, societal change, and technological development into an overarching intellectual space.
In a world where artificial intelligence, information overload, and loss of meaning converge, this series offers not answers in the classic sense, but orientation through clarity, depth, and language. Each volume is a standalone work, yet together they form an internal map that ranges from the origin of experience to concrete changes in the world of work.
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by Hakan Özgür
Origin, Intention, and Creation
The books emerged not from strategy, but from necessity – from an artistic, inner process. The starting point was images, notes, fragments of thought. Over time, this evolved into a philosophical-literary project that deliberately works not disciplinarily, but connectively: between art, language, science, and society.
The Intention: Bring people back into relationship with themselves, make complex topics understandable without simplifying them, enable insight – not as information, but as experience.
MindShift is not just a title – it's an attitude. An invitation to understand the world not as a problem, but as a relationship.
Connection of Art, Philosophy, Technology, and Humanity
What makes the series unique is its original artistic origin. The books are not conceived abstractly, but felt concretely – they stem from the same sources as the artworks.
In this sense, MindShift is art in language – and not merely a non-fiction series.
The books operate in the tension field of these four levels – and create something unique from them: a literary-philosophical approach to what it means to be human in the 21st century.
Art
Perception, Expression, Creation
Philosophy
Self, Being, Time, Reality
Technology
AI, Data, Automation
Humanity
Resonance, Identity, Dignity
The Author: Hakan Özgür
Biographical Sketch
Hakan Özgür was born in 1976 and lives between Dresden and Izmir. He is a contemporary artist, author, and thinker with a unique connection of visual art, language, and societal reflection. His work is neither academic nor esoteric – but authentic, precise, radically human. After years of artistic practice, he began to translate his visual insights into language. This led to a writing process that developed over several years – starting from the inner world, reacting to the outer world.
Attitude, Positioning, Vision
Hakan stands for a clear attitude: "Art Not Content." In a world full of digital noise, performative messages, and quick fixes, there is a need for spaces where authenticity, depth, and artistic truth have their place. His goal is not visibility, but connectedness through clarity. He understands writing as an artistic form of responsibility – not to convince, but to enable. Insight, resonance, awareness. He rejects artificial sensationalism, simplistic "market language," or glossy spirituality as much as technocratic coldness. Instead: a space where readers can encounter themselves – in reflection, empathy, and new understanding.
Book 1:
You Are the Universe
How Consciousness Creates the World – And How You Recognize Yourself Within It
"You Are the Universe" is the starting point of a four-part intellectual space on consciousness, reality, and identity. This work unfolds a calm, profound journey of exploration through the central questions of human existence: What is consciousness? Where does our experience come from? And how is our personal perception connected to the world out there? At its core is the thesis that it is not the world that produces our consciousness, but rather our consciousness that makes the world experiencable.
The book draws on philosophical, psychological, neuroscientific, and quantum physical approaches – yet without academic heaviness or esoteric simplification. Instead, it guides the reader into a quiet space of self-perception, which remains open to new insights. Chapter by chapter, the fundamental building blocks of our construction of reality are questioned:
Consciousness • Physical Reality • Information • Identity • Resonance • Connectedness
The writing style is reflective, empathetic, and clear. It avoids argumentative persuasion, instead inviting self-experience. Metaphors, examples, and scientific anchors – such as the rubber hand illusion or the double-slit experiment – demonstrate how relative our reality is.
Central Theses and Special Features
Consciousness is not a product of the world, but the prerequisite for the world to appear. Physical reality is not independent of the observer – the act of perception influences the outcome (cf. quantum physics). Information only becomes meaning through consciousness. Identity is not a stable self, but a dynamic process of resonance, memory, bodily sensation, and language. You are not a subject in the world – the world happens within your consciousness.
Target Audience Analysis
People interested in philosophy, psychology, and modern science – beyond classic textbooks. Readers seeking meaning who are looking for clarity rather than promises. People who have read books by authors like Harari, Precht, Carlo Rovelli, or Sam Harris – and are seeking a more human, empathetic voice. Spiritually seeking individuals who desire clarity and sobriety – without dogma, but with depth.
Connection to the Overall Work
"You Are the Universe" is the foundational book of the series – it lays the philosophical and epistemological groundwork.
It opens up thinking and perception for what will later be explored socially, technologically, and existentially in the subsequent volumes:
"Lost in Space" deepens the existential emptiness and search for meaning that arises from this. "What Does AI Do to Us?" creates the bridge to social reality. "Professional Identity in the Age of AI" shows how these questions become visible in concrete working life.
Initial Literary-Content Assessment
"You Are the Universe" is a quiet but impressive book – philosophically profound, scientifically responsible, and at the same time inviting in its language. It convinces not through argumentative dominance, but through clarity, stance, and openness. The author succeeds in creating a space for thought where insight is not conveyed as knowledge, but as a shared search.
The book does not fit into popular scientific trend literature but stands alone – in form, tone, and depth. An invitation to understand through experience – and a literary statement against the overheating of thought."
Book 2:
Lost in Space – Trying to Find a Place
A poetic-philosophical work on identity, resonance, and the cosmos
“Lost in Space – Trying to Find a Place” is a literary-philosophical essay that expresses a deep human experience in quiet, evocative language: the search for belonging in an increasingly boundless world. The starting point is the feeling of being lost in space – spatially, existentially, emotionally. What begins as an inner restlessness becomes a journey through consciousness, science, and human resonance.
The book impressively connects insights from modern physics with emotional movements: quantum fluctuations, time dilation, chaotic systems, and the laws of resonance are not didactically explained but made sensually tangible. The text is rhythmic, permeated with poetry, but never detached. In clear, quiet poetic language, the author unfolds a map of the inner and outer cosmos – from loneliness to connectedness, from emptiness to resonance.
Central Theses and Special Features
Identity is not fixed, but a movement in space – a "place" that only emerges in the echo of the world. Interpersonal resonance is not incidental, but constitutive for the experience of self. The cosmos is not only physical but symbolically connected with human experience: We are made of stardust – and yet we search for our place. Order and chaos are not opposites, but a dynamic interplay – both in nature and within oneself. There is no clear boundary between inside and outside – the human being is a resonating body of the world.
Target Audience Analysis
Readers with existential questions about meaning, place, self, and world. People who want to be touched by books – beyond categorization. Fans of authors like Max Frisch, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Alain de Botton, or Anne Michaels. Philosophically and spiritually interested individuals who can be inspired by a linguistically sensitive, poetically reflective form of writing.
Connection to the Overall Work
“Lost in Space” forms the emotional core of the MindShift series. It deepens the themes from “You are the Universe,” but not theoretically, rather atmospherically and poetically. It is the book that expresses the most vulnerability, authenticity, and artistic intuition – a work of opening. It is not a non-fiction book, but a space where insight occurs as experience.
Thus, it bridges the gap between the epistemological foundations (Book 1) and the societal implications (Books 3 & 4). It provides the why – emotionally, quietly, clearly.
First Literary-Content Assessment
“Lost in Space – Trying to Find a Place” is a rare book: vulnerable, philosophical, cosmic, and profoundly human all at once. It foregoes lecturing and instead tries to evoke an echo in the reader – not a concept, but a feeling. The text is a poetic resonance chamber, permeated by clarity, longing, and a quiet trust in the interconnectedness of all things.
In an over-informed world, this book is like a quiet star: bright, but not glaring. It deserves a place in any publisher that understands literature not merely as a market product, but as a possibility to touch people.”*
Book 3:
What does AI do to us?
How Artificial Intelligence Changes Our Thinking, Actions, and Humanity
"What does AI do to us?" is an interdisciplinary non-fiction book that examines in six chapters how artificial intelligence changes our society, our self-image, and our human behavior. It is not about technical details, but about the silent shifts that algorithms implant into our thinking, feeling, and acting – often unnoticed, but profound.
Work (Automation, Decision Systems, Control)Relationships (Digital Communication, AI Friendships, Dating Algorithms)Identity (Self-images, Performance Pressure, Comparison Metrics)Power Dynamics (Data as Currency, Control through Platforms)Creativity (Co-Creation vs. Displacement of Human Ideas)Future Visions (Utopias, Dystopias, Responsibility)
Instead of falling into alarmism or techno-euphoria, the author remains reflective, nuanced, and approachable. He asks questions, creates spaces for thought, links studies with personal observations, and provides orientation in an overly complex digital world.
Central Theses and Special Features
AI changes us not only externally (jobs, tools) but internally (self-image, perception, behavioral patterns). Many effects are subtle: ways of thinking, attachment patterns, decision routines adapt to algorithmic logic. Society unlearns how to tolerate ambiguity – decisions are quantified instead of understood. Creativity remains human – not because machines are stupid, but because they don't feel. The greatest influence of AI lies in how it reprograms our internal and interpersonal reference systems.
Target Audience Analysis
Educated readers who want to understand AI without being computer scientists. People interested in psychology, ethics, and sociology in the digital context. Teachers, parents, executives – everyone who wants to know how AI "quietly" shapes society. Readers who desire a calm, humanistic overview beyond hype and panic – with depth, but without ivory tower intellectualism.
Connection to the Overall Work
This book is the societal-ethical axis of the MindShift project. It translates the epistemological foundations from "You Are the Universe" and the existential experience from "Lost in Space" into a discursive societal context. It shows why conscious self-awareness is crucial if we are to live in a world increasingly shaped by machine systems. It is the book that builds the bridge between inner and outer, human and machine, responsibility and creation.
First Literary-Content Assessment
"What does AI do to us?" is a quiet, intelligent book about a loud, fast-paced development. It doesn't rely on buzzwords or techno-visions, but on depth and stance. The author connects social, psychological, and cultural dimensions of AI into a holistic picture that invites readers to reflect – and to co-create.
In its reflective tone and interdisciplinary structure, the book stands in the tradition of Enlightenment literature: not ideological, but humanistic and responsible. A work with substance – and a strong anchor in the discourse of the coming years."
Book 4:
Professional Identity in the AI Age
How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the World of Work and Our Self-Perception
This book is the most precise and practical elaboration of the MindShift series. It addresses a central question of our time: "Who am I – when AI is working with me?" The focus is on the transformation of the working world through Artificial Intelligence. But it's not just about new tools or job profiles, but about the profound effects on the self-perception of working people.
What role does my profession play in my sense of self? What happens to me when machines take over routine, decision-making, or even creativity? Using concrete scenarios – e.g., a graphic designer using Midjourney AI or a manager making personnel decisions with algorithms – the book shows how profession and identity are increasingly decoupling.
At the same time, it offers encouragement: Human competencies such as empathy, curiosity, critical thinking, and resonance remain irreplaceable – and become even more relevant when working with AI. Each chapter opens a space for thought: Meaning and self-worth in work, new role models and careers, fear of loss vs. curiosity as a survival strategy, upskilling, co-creation, human-machine teams, resilience through self-knowledge.
Central Theses and Special Features
Profession is more than income – it is a space for identity. When this changes, our self-perception also changes. AI not only intervenes in processes but changes our role, authority, and the feeling of being needed. Human identity in work is increasingly based on non-algorithmic abilities: relationships, creativity, ambiguity. Curiosity and willingness to learn are crucial future qualities – not soft skills, but survival tools. Professional identity in the AI age is not a technical, but a humanistic topic.
Target Audience Analysis
Professionals in transition: Executives, freelancers, creatives, consultants; Educational institutions, coaches, organizational developers; People in transitional situations: job changes, reorientation, further training phases; Readers looking for orientation: not as a guide, but as a deeper reflection.
Connection to the Entire Work
This book is the societal focal point of the MindShift series. It brings the epistemological foundation (You Are the Universe), the existential search for meaning (Lost in Space), and the systemic-ethical AI reflection (What Does AI Do to Us?) back into people's everyday lives – concretely, personally, action-oriented. It is the book that gives the entire series societal relevance and connectability – in politics, education, business, and culture.
First Literary and Content Assessment
"Professional Identity in the AI Age" is a clever, deeply human non-fiction book about the invisible transformation of work. It combines well-founded observation with empathy, reflection with clarity. Instead of focusing on future predictions or technological fashion trends, it asks: What does all this do to the people who are confronted daily with new tools, demands, and uncertainties?
The book offers no recipes – it offers self-understanding. And with that, orientation in a world where the boundaries between human and machine are being renegotiated. A significant work – not loud, but important.”
MindShift as a Complete Work
A Literary-Philosophical Compass for the 21st Century
The Structure of an Intellectual Journey
The MindShift series is not a loose collection of topics. It is an intellectual choreography, a four-stage path of insight through the great questions of our time – from the inside out, from being to doing, from the self to the world:
This structure is not didactic – it has grown organically from an artistic, philosophical, and personal process. Each volume can stand on its own. But together, they reveal a coherent intellectual space that leads readers from self-perception to shaping the world.
The Methodology:
Thinking humanely in complex times. In a world of simplification, speed, and agitation, MindShift offers a different approach: Insight through stillness, language, and substance. Responsibility without guilt, depth without dogma – accessibility without oversimplification.
The style is consistently: calm, clear, essayistic, reflective rather than didactic, narrative rather than explanatory. Each book offers insight through language – not through proof, but through comprehensible shifts in perspective. Thus, even complex ideas become tangible.
Art – Philosophy – Society
The MindShift books emerged from the same process as the works on artful-spaces.com:
An expression of seeking, inner clarity, and artistic truth.
They stand in the tradition of thinkers such as: Hannah Arendt (responsible thinking in the political sphere) David Bohm (dialogue as a method of inquiry) Carlo Rovelli (poetics in physics) Byung-Chul Han (diagnosis of the contemporary subject)
At the same time, they are entirely independent: not thesis-driven books, no intellectual vanity – but milestones of a seeking generation.
Why this Complete Work is Needed Now
Because in 2025, we are at a point where orientation comes not from facts, but from understanding. Because AI, societal change, and loss of meaning go hand-in-hand – and because true depth does not arise from the market, but within the individual. These books are a quiet, profound counter-proposal to the attention economy – a guide for people who not only want to function, but to understand.
They are not just content – they are insight in form. And therein lies their literary, social, and artistic value.
www.thalia.de
Du bist das Universum
Du bist das Universum - Wie Bewusstsein die Welt erschafft und du dich darin erkennst von Hakan Özgür Dieses Buch ist eine Einladung, deine Sicht auf die Welt radikal neu zu denken. Was wäre, wenn das, was du für die Realität hältst, untrennbar mit deinem Bewusstsein verbunden ist? Was, wenn das Universum nicht nur um dich herum geschieht, sondern durch dich? In ruhigem, tief reflektierendem Ton führt Du bist das Universum durch die großen Themen unseres Daseins: Bewusstsein, Wahrnehmung, Identi
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Lost in Space
Dieses Buch ist Teil einer vierteiligen Reihe, die aus einem offenen künstlerischen Prozess entstanden ist. Die Fragen, die hier verhandelt werden, sind nicht theoretisch, sondern gehen auf eine längere Auseinandersetzung mit Wahrnehmung, Identität, Wirklichkeit und Verbundenheit zurück. Begonnen in der bildenden Kunst, weitergeführt in Sprache. Lost in Space - Trying to Find a Place widmet sich den Zwischenräumen im Denken und Erleben. Es beschreibt innere Zustände wie Orientierungslosigkeit, F
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Was macht KI mit uns?
Was macht KI mit uns? Künstliche Intelligenz verändert, wie wir arbeiten, denken, kommunizieren und wer wir sind. Dieses Buch erkundet die Auswirkungen von KI auf unsere Identität, Beziehungen, Kreativität, Arbeit, Machtverhältnisse und unser Lernen. Es zeigt, wie KI unseren Alltag beeinflusst, wie Kinder mit ihr aufwachsen und warum Empathie, Verantwortung und kritisches Denken entscheidender sind denn je. Fundiert, verständlich und gesellschaftlich relevant für alle, die wissen wollen, was KI
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AI ID
Berufliche Identität im KI-Zeitalter ist ein aktuelles Sachbuch über die tiefgreifenden Veränderungen der Arbeitswelt durch Künstliche Intelligenz und darüber, was sie mit unserem Selbstbild als berufstätige Menschen macht. Der technologische Wandel betrifft heute nicht nur Produktionsabläufe, sondern stellt die Frage neu: Wer bin ich in meinem Beruf, wenn Algorithmen mitarbeiten, mitentscheiden und mitgestalten? Das Buch beschreibt diesen Wandel nicht als Science-Fiction, sondern als Realität i